The IPOX® Watch: Central Retail Corporation
COMPANY DESCRIPTION
Founded in 1947, Central Group is a Bangkok-based family-owned holding company with a variety of investments in investments in retail, property development, hospitality and the food & beverage sector, both in Thailand and abroad. The company's subsidiary Central Retail Corporation is the largest retail operator in Thailand.
BUSINESS MODEL
Central Retail Corporation operates 41 malls with about 8 km2 of floor space in Thailand as well as over 100 department stores worldwide. After Thailand, the company's main markets are Vietnam and Italy. In Europe, the company owns and operates several established, century old high-end store brands such as Selfridges (United Kingdom), KaDeWe (Germany), Rinascente (Italy), De Bijenkorf (Netherlands).
IPO HISTORY
On 02/20/2020, Central Retail Corp began trading on the Bangkok Stock Exchange. The offer was led by Morgan Stanley, UBS, Credit Suisse, Kasikornbank, Bualuang Securities and Kiatnakin Phatra Securities. The mall operator offered 1.69 billion shares, at THB 42.00 per share, slightly above mid-point of its expected price range (THB 40-43). The firm was valued at ca. THB 253 billion (about $7.2B) at offer with the 10% over-allotment option fully exercised. Raising about $2B, the IPO was the largest in Thai history. The shares closed the first day lower at THB 41.75 (+0.60%).
Central Retail Corp was included in the IPOX® International Index (ETF: FPXI US) on 12/19/2022 and has gained +0.57% since addition to the index.
